One of the North-West’s biggest commercial property groups has reported a 42 per cent surge in its pre-tax profits. The family-owned Bruntwood group credited last year’s record £16.8m profit to the ongoing “recovery in the Liverpool property market” and securing one of the biggest lettings deals of the year with outsourcing specialists Bosch relocating to the group’s Liverpool Plaza development.
Bruntwood, which promises to provide anything from a desk for a day to a whole building for 25 years, specialises in offices, serviced office space, retail property and meeting rooms. Among its Liverpool portfolio are the Cotton Exchange and the Queen Insurance Buildings, both of which are Grade II listed buildings. Interestingly the latter, which was built between 1837-39, was one of the earliest developments in the city to include speculative office space.
The Manchester-based group’s net worth fell slightly to £286.4m, down five per cent from 2012, due to the timing of its valuations. A difference, claims chief executive Chris Oglesby, which has already been made up by momentum in the investment market during the final months of last year.
To service the group debt — which now stands at £587m — Bruntwood has negotiated a five-year £221m medium-term facility with HSBC, RBS, Barclays and Santander and a £120m 10-year facility with Legal and General. The company has also launched a seven-year £50m retail bond to help it finance future growth.
“While this recession has been tough, our major regional cities emerge stronger from it and I am more optimistic about their future than I have been at any other time,” added Oglesby. “We are very well positioned to capitalise on the strength of these markets, as well as the major projects we have planned.
“We will also continue to strengthen our strategic partnerships and look to develop new relationships, ensuring that after a few years of reduced development activity 2014 will be our busiest year ever.”
One of its most recent high-profile deals was the relocation of the Bosch Communication Centre to The Liverpool Plaza deal means that 85 per cent of the building’s 45,000sq ft is now taken.
David Seddon is head of sales at Bruntwood. “This letting was one that was strongly contested in the market and it’s testament to our flexible approach and commitment to providing the right office solutions for prospective and existing customers that we have secured this lease,” he said.
“We recognise that customer’s business circumstances will change, whether it’s downsizing or, in Bosch’s case growing, and as a property partner our focus is on offering real flexibility and enabling customers to move across our portfolio.”
Bruntwood owns more than 900,000sq ft across nine major office buildings in Liverpool city centre allowing it to specialise in flexible letting lengths and suite specifications on its entire property portfolio.
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